Kung Fu Panda: The Recovery Chronicles
by Tigreye33
Summary: After the events of Kung Fu Panda: Battle of the Millennia, the Valley of Peace is slowly recovering from a fierce battle. Tigress's wounds were among the greatest inflicted, granting her a frustratingly slow recovery. Will everyone recover before long? As Tigress tries to begin to walk again, Vixey's mom decides to pay a visit. Will she cause chaos, or can she actually help?
1. EP1 Mother of Mine Part 1

**Happy Holidays!**

 **I apologize for the very long wait. After all the movie hype back in January and a couple losses I went through since then, it took me ages to get back on track. And I'm glad to be back! I hope you enjoy!**

* * *

 ** _Summary:_** As Tigress tries to begin to walk again, Vixey's mom decides to pay a visit. Will she cause chaos, or can she actually help?

* * *

 _Episode One: Mother of Mine, Part One_

There seemed to be too many foes to count, but they were dropping like flies.

Tigress couldn't remember a time she felt happier. She attacked with confidence and most enemies not in the way of her claws immediately turned themselves around and fled. The battle seemed to be over in seconds.

She pursued them with only the intent to scare them off any additional attack. Then she stopped mid-stride when a storm of peach blossoms danced in front of her and continued toward her left. Knowing she didn't have to worry about her enemies, she followed the blossoms.

She had to continue running on all fours to keep up with the petals. She felt like she could run forever if she had to - her body didn't seem to show any signs of tiring.

Then she slid to a stop as the blossoms formed a whirlwind near a tree Tigress realized was the Sacred Peach Tree of Heavenly Wisdom. She didn't have time to think before Master Oogway materialized amid the blossoms.

"Hello again, Tigress," the old turtle said.

"Master Oogway!" Tigress began, bowing. "It's good to see you again!"

"But aren't you forgetting something?" Oogway asked her.

As soon as Tigress looked up in confusion, she doubled over in pain. It felt like someone was digging a knife into her side. She looked up again to see that she was now enveloped by the cyclone of petals.

"Master!" she shouted, reaching out with one paw while the other was holding her side. "Oogway! Wait!"

She felt like she just fell through the ground.

Suddenly, she opened her eyes. She was staring up at her bedroom ceiling. Then the pain spiked again, making her turn onto her side and curl up.

"Uh, good morning?" Vixey asked reluctantly, standing up and walking to her friend's bedside. "Tian should be here any minute, so..."

The fox recoiled when Tigress hissed, presumably to herself.

"Was it that dream again?" Vixey asked, trying to help her straighten out.

"Of course, it was," Tigress growled. "What else would you think it'd be?"

She swiped at Vixey to make her back off, and then tried to sit up as painlessly as possible.

"Wasn't it Viper's night?" she asked.

"It was, but I had to fill in for her this morning," Vixey told her, walking away to clean up the scrolls she left on the floor. "Everyone's off roughing up some thieves in one of the southern villages."

She paused, watching Tigress struggle halfway through her task. She started to move to help her again.

"Back off," Tigress growled, more threateningly than before.

Vixey whirled around and cleaned her things up quickly. She then yelped when the door started opening.

"Off to an early start today, Tigress?" Tian asked as she walked in.

The red panda was wearing an off-white robe and a light green sash - her new healer robes. But after a few months already on the job, they were hardly new now.

Tigress gave her a sour look and continued trying to sit up.

Vixey peered around the door.

"She had that nightmare again," she whispered to Tian. "You know how upset she gets when -! Waaah!"

She ducked just in time to avoid the pillow Tigress threw at her. Tian had hardly flinched and took the pillow calmly.

"It wasn't a nightmare," Tigress growled as she finally sat up. "It never starts out that way."

Tian handed her the pillow and started working to remove Tigress's bandage to treat and clean it again.

"Most good dreams tend to be that way," she said. "You're practically flying and it drops you a thousand feet just before you wake up."

Tigress winced as the last part of the bandage came off. At least that wasn't hurting as badly lately.

"Still no scab," Tian said, sounding a little peeved, "but you're still not bleeding enough to worry much about."

She started cleaning the wound, making Tigress wince badly.

"Do you need my help, or should I go get food for Tigress?" Vixey asked.

"Go get the food," Tian said, not turning away from the wound. "I should be done by then."

Vixey nodded and walked into the hallway.

* * *

It had been just over half a year since the fight for the Jade Palace. Repairs had finished since then, but the memories remained. The Masters had chased Ruili, the crazed otter that had previously chased them from their home, through the halls of the barracks before Tigress cornered her, though she almost lost her life in the process. During the fighting, she'd been nicked by a poisoned axe, which poison manifested during the final fight. Due to the quick thinking of the others, she barely survived.

Most of the village closest to the Jade Palace had been destroyed and was still rebuilding. It was during the intense fight down there that one of the Masters, Jin, the quarterstaff master from Miao Zhen of the Ju Long province, lost his beloved girlfriend, Xinli. He left for Miao Zhen with his fellow warriors to mourn and still hadn't returned.

* * *

In the early afternoon, everyone was back and enjoying lunch, though most of them weren't even in the barracks kitchen. Po walked in and saw only Monkey, Mantis, and Crane were at the table, which had become normal lately.

"Hey, Po," they chorused before returning to their meals.

"Hi, guys," Po said, walking to the counter to dish himself up. "Any word on how Tigress is doing?"

"Same as usual," Crane told him.

"Still in pain, still can't walk," Monkey said, "and still upset about it."

"I heard from Tian that she's making progress," Mantis added. "Slow progress, but she's getting there."

They fell into silence for a moment. Po finished dishing himself up and started for the door.

"Eating with them today?" Monkey asked.

"Might as well," Po told him. "I haven't in a while."

Monkey shrugged and returned to his meal.

Po walked toward the sound of several voices in the direction of the bedrooms. He heard several people laugh just before he got to Tigress's room.

"Po!" Vixey cried enthusiastically. "Welcome!"

"Good afternoon, Po," Viper said, motioning for him to sit next to her.

Po walked toward her and plopped down next to her, causing a tremor that the others didn't pay much attention to. He figured Viper, Vixey, and Tian would be eating with Tigress, but he was startled to see Shifu here, too, sitting next to his sister. He usually seemed so busy around lunchtime.

"What're we all talking about?" Po asked, beginning to tear into his meal.

"Old war stories," Tigress answered. "Vixey was kind enough to remind us about the Battle of the Thousand Jackals."

Vixey stifled a laugh so forcibly that she snorted.

"Oh yeah," Po added, "when you threw me at that first squadron! Classic Domino Effect!"

"That will never get old," Viper said.

"I wish I'd been there to see it," Tian told them.

"I saw it from across the plains," Shifu added.

They all shared a laugh, and Po couldn't help but look at Tigress. It'd been ages since he'd seen her so oblivious to her injury. It was refreshing for once.

Vixey was still in a bout of giggles.

"Okay," she started, "I think I can laugh about this one now. Remember when I caught that terrible head cold mid-mission last year?"

The others laughed a little, holding back out of sympathy for the fox.

"Who could forget it?" Tigress asked.

"I'd been claiming I don't remember much from the experience," Vixey continued, "but I was lying. I remember hearing really confusing orders from you, though I _know_ you'd never say anything like that."

"That would explain why you kept almost getting killed doing so many strange things," Viper said.

"We'd have had you keep playing decoy, because it was actually helping, but we didn't want to get you killed," Po added.

The four students laughed a bit, but Shifu and Tian looked rather interested. Shifu had only heard Vixey had gotten sick, and Tian wasn't even at the Jade Palace at the time.

"And once we got back, the healer totally jumped me," Vixey continued.

"You kept escaping and screaming about a snake," Viper said, "which I would've found offensive if I wasn't so worried about you."

"Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry!" Vixey gasped.

The others erupted in laughter, but stopped when they heard a shriek from the other room.

"Was that Monkey?" Vixey asked.

"I actually think that was Crane," Po said.

They then heard someone running down the hall.

"I'm going to be an uncle!" Crane exclaimed as soon as he appeared in the doorway.

Everyone was surprised at his outburst, but then became delighted.

"Anjing finally laid an egg?" Viper started.

"It's about time!" Tigress told him.

Crane was almost literally bouncing where he stood.

"And this came for you," Mantis said, handing a letter off to Vixey.

"'Bout time Mom wrote," the fox muttered, opening the scroll. "She's usually very punctual each week."

Barely a moment later, she let out a cry of distress, startling everyone in the room.

"She's coming tomorrow!" she shrieked. "She must've sent this on her way out of town!"

Everyone showed varying levels of worry and exasperation.

"I'm surprised it took Aijia this long to decide to visit," Shifu muttered.

Tian raised an eyebrow at him.

"Aijia?" she asked. "What a peculiar name."

"We're a peculiar bunch," Vixey whimpered. "Couldn't she have given us more warning? Like a week's notice?"

"She's your mom," Monkey said. "Why don't you ask her that?"

Vixey gave him a stinging glare.

Then everyone stopped and listened as the warning gong sounded. Then the current Five rushed out to fend off the incoming attack.

"I'll wash the dishes when I get back!" Po called out as he was leaving.

Vixey shook her head as she started taking everyone's dishes and cleaning up.

"Yikes," she mumbled. "Must be the fifth attack in two days."

Her ear twitched as she heard Tigress slump a little. She jumped and turned to see her.

"I-I mean," she started, "it's not like it's _huge_ fights! It must just be a handful of bandits, or... or a... um..."

"Shut up, Vixey," Tigress growled.

Vixey clammed up.

"I guess you're right," she whispered to herself. "They wouldn't be ringing the gong for that..."

She realized too late that Tigress could still hear her, and both red pandas could sense the tiger's growing frustration, giving the fox glowering looks.

"Do you really have to make it any harder on me?" Tigress hissed.

"I-I didn't mean to be so insensitive!" Vixey pled.

Sensing a bit of trouble, Tian rolled her eyes and climbed onto Tigress's bed, walking to just behind her. Shifu, however, shook his head and started to walk out.

"Why don't you just keep your mouth sh-AH!"

Tigress tensed up as soon as Tian touched her. She suddenly fell limp and the red panda helped her lay down.

"I hate you," she growled numbly to Vixey.

The fox gave her a weak, nervous smile before turning away.

"Pressure points, huh?" she asked Tian, who nodded back. "I... think I'll just go... prepare myself..."

She walked out of the room muttering quietly to herself, sounding almost like she was whimpering. As soon as she entered the hallway, she saw Shifu leaving the barracks and ran after him.

"Master!" she shouted once outside. "Wait! I need to ask you something!"

She saw Shifu's ear twitch just before he slowed his step. But he didn't stop.

"Ask away," he said.

Vixey caught up to him and started walking with him.

"I'm not sure I can help Tigress," she confessed. "With my mom, I mean. She always dotes on everyone like crazy and _never_ listens to me to stop! I'm sure she's coming to try to help with Tigress..."

This time, Shifu did stop. Vixey turned to look at him, expecting to see him thinking of a solution. But he actually looked rather exasperated.

"You say she won't listen?" he started. "Are you sure it's her who isn't listening?"

Vixey looked bewildered.

"Wait, wait, wait, what?!" she told him. "Yes! I'm sure she doesn't listen! I tell her to let someone sleep for five more minutes, and barely a second later, she's brought a parade into the office! Then she offers a _dozen_ remedies for lack of sleep, and I'm ready to punch myself in the teeth!"

"Did you always have this sort of relationship with her?"

Vixey paused. Then she looked down.

"No," she muttered. "She started going all crazy after I moved out."

Then she looked at Shifu again.

"But it wasn't like she missed me!" she continued. "If she did, she'd be paying just as much attention to me, right?"

Shifu raised an eyebrow at her.

"She's neglecting you?" he asked.

"Not... really..." Vixey said hesitantly. "She makes sure I've eaten and am healthy. But... she's just...!"

At a loss for words, she slumped a bit. Shifu thought for a moment.

"It seems to me there is something missing from your relationship with your mother," he said.

"Um, there's a lot missing," Vixey told him.

Shifu shook his head.

"Things will become better with her if you just try," he said. "You remember how strained my relationship with Tian had been. Now, we aren't perfect. There is still a lot to work out from our decades apart. But we can stand each other's presence and even care about each other's welfare now."

Vixey looked a bit conflicted. She kind of saw what he was getting at but... this was different!

"Try to find why your mother is acting like this," Shifu continued. "Only then will your relationship turn for the better. No friendship was ever based on misunderstanding."

He started walking past his student, leaving her to think on his words. But the fox couldn't make sense of much of it. By the time she turned to ask another question, though, Shifu was gone. Frustrated, she whirled back around and went back inside the barracks.

* * *

"Of course she's deciding to come now," Vixey mumbled to herself. "Always comes at bad times. It's like she _knows_ when not to come and comes anyway..."

Po and Crane stopped talking when they heard the fox as they walked toward the kitchen. They looked inside to see her furiously scrubbing the dishes Po was supposed to clean, and the kitchen was spotless. They stood there in awkward silence while Vixey continued to mumble to herself, getting more soap suds on her face and past her elbows.

"Should we... do something?" Po asked.

"No. She's coping," Crane answered. "And the floor's still wet."

Po flinched, looked down at his dusty feet, then back at the fox, and made himself scarce.

* * *

Once the sun set on the Jade Palace, everything was silent. Not many of the occupants were actually asleep, but most were either finishing last minute work or actively readying for bed.

Tian sat near Tigress's door, fixing up a potion while Tigress just stared aimlessly at her ceiling. Tian's potion was almost complete when the silence was broken.

"What is there left to do?"

Tian looked up at the wounded tiger.

"About your injury?" she asked.

"Yes," Tigress answered.

Tian picked up on a sorrow in her voice. She finished her potion and walked to Tigress's bedside.

"I'm afraid we don't have anything to do except tend our patience," she said. "You have been making progress, but it's in very small amounts. We still can't risk larger amounts of activity until you've stopped bleeding."

She paused.

"It is a good thing Vixey has been giving you those potions," she continued. "Even with this small amount of bleeding, over these months, you would have bled your life away."

Tigress gave a small, unhappy sigh before sitting up.

"I'm supposed to be patient and just sit here for something to happen?" she started, her voice becoming sharp. "I used to be able to jump out of bed in the dead of night and race to the aid of any number of villagers in this Valley, and now I can't even walk!"

Tian maintained eye contact for a moment before looking at where Tigress's feet were covered by her blanket and looking back at her again.

"Shouldn't," she corrected. " _Can't_ implies that you've lost all feeling in your legs and will never walk again."

Tigress hesitated, having had a strike to her frustration, though a small one.

"You're exhausted," Tian continued. "Every memory triggers your frustration and exhaustion and you need a release. Shouting at us won't get you very far. Find a hobby to fill your time."

"My hobbies don't last long," Tigress spat bitterly. "As long as I'm stuck in bed, nothing can keep my attention for long."

"Then rotate," Tian suggested. "Find more hobbies to fiddle with and switch every week or so. The trouble with exhaustion is that it can delay healing or even make your condition worse."

She swirled the potion in the vial she was holding.

"Here," she said. "It's a sleeping draught. You need your rest, especially after the day you've had."

Tigress paused, looking at the potion. Then she took it hesitantly.

"I'm sorry," she said at almost a whisper. "You didn't deserve that."

Tian shrugged.

"Maybe I did," she said. "Each one of you students reminds me of one of my children at different points in their lives. Since none of them live with me anymore, I relish the memories."

Tigress almost smiled at Tian. Then, after a moment, she swallowed the potion in one swig. She handed the vial back before lying down again.

"Your kids," Tigress started, "what were they like as cubs?"

"Impish little devils at certain points," Tian admitted, sitting down near the door, "but the most darling angels most other times. Typical, I know."

They shared a small laugh.

"You should meet them one day," Tian said. "They are your cousins, after all. I'm sure they and their children would be delighted to meet you and Shifu."

A second went by and Tigress jumped as if startled by something. Tian looked at her and noticed she'd been nodding off during the conversation and had grown alert for only a moment.

"Good night, Tigress," Tian told her gently.

She turned back to her scrolls and looked over notes. She picked up a nearby scroll and read the notes her friend had sent her recently. But at the bottom of the letter, she grew a bit disheartened. She looked at the other scrolls in the small pile she'd pulled this one from. They all said basically the same thing.

They had no idea what to do about Tigress's wound. Tian's guess was as good as theirs.

Tian rubbed her eyes. She was becoming drowsy and reading in the dim candlelight was messing with her vision. She cleaned up her workspace and prepared for bed.

She took one last look at Tigress.

"Don't worry, dear," she muttered. "I won't give up on you."

She blew out her candle and settled down to sleep.

* * *

 **Finally, I'm publishing again! I'm sorry it took so long, but after working on my first four stories, I hadn't done much preparing for the Recovery Chronicles and onward.**

 **Since I'm now writing in episode format, it will take a bit longer to complete and upload, as opposed to stories like Battle of the Millennia.**

 **Also, since the episodes are so long, I'm going to be separating each episode into three parts, as if stopping for a commercial break. Please do tell me if the breaks bother you. Then I'll likely shift to a different format.**

 **Please stay tuned! Part 2 tomorrow!**


	2. EP1 Mother of Mine Part 2

_Episode One: Mother of Mine, Part Two_

The sun had barely peaked over the distant mountains. Mist creeped across the Valley in a serene manner. Not many people were awake, but those who were enjoyed the sights this morning brought.

Vixey was still sleeping soundly, sprawled across her bed with her blanket partially covering her. She still had a little while before she needed to wake up and leave her room.

But then she suddenly sat upright, fully awake. She looked to be in a state of terror as her ears twitched. Then she jumped out of bed and donned her kimono.

"I think she's here," she whimpered to herself.

She leapt out of her room and bolted down the hall. She was about to throw the outer doors open when one door's handle swung out of her grasp. Shifu was mildly startled to see her there, though the fox nearly had a heart attack and just managed to keep from tripping and falling over backwards.

"I'm surprised to see you up so early," the red panda told her.

"She's here!" Vixey told him, almost failing to keep her voice down. "I could hear her! Or sense her... or..."

Shifu rolled his eyes and walked past his student, peeved.

"Don't be late for training," he told her.

Vixey almost started flailing, unable to grasp the fact that Shifu had just dismissed her problem. Then she ran to the peach tree to have a look at the giant staircase. No one was climbing it. She let out a prolonged, uncomfortable sigh as she slumped to the ground, feeling like she just dissolved into a pile of jelly.

* * *

Shifu walked to his usual spot in the hall and instinctively counted down the seconds until the morning gong would sound. He felt annoyed at Vixey for over-exaggerating her problems. Constantly.

 _Three... two... one..._

His ear twitched just before the gong sounded.

"Good morning, Master," each member of the current Five said, simultaneously standing in front of their doors.

Then Monkey noticed Vixey was absent and her door was ajar.

"Late-night escape?" he joked.

Po, Mantis, and Crane snickered while Viper looked worriedly at the fox's empty spot.

"She's... preparing... for her mother's arrival," Shifu told them sternly. "Report to the Training Hall. And don't go too easy on her. We all should be ready for unpleasant arrivals at all times, and this is no different."

The Five walked past him, but he waited, as he usually did these past months.

"So says the man who hid in a closet from his ex-girlfriend," came a slightly teasing voice.

Shifu turned immediately to glare at his sister.

"How did you hear about that?" he growled.

Tian simply rolled her eyes, dismissing the question.

"Tigress is still sleeping," she started. "I gave her a sleeping draught last night. She's becoming more restless as time goes on."

She caught a slightly more depressed change in her brother.

"Why don't we try to let her walk?" he asked, somewhat pleadingly.

Now Tian seemed to copy Shifu's change in mood.

"We can't," she told him. "The poison's damage makes the wound very fragile. And she wouldn't be able to stand up if she tried."

They both fell silent. Then Shifu turned to leave.

"I sense a solution will appear soon," he said.

"I do, too," Tian answered back. "The only problem is that it's tantalizingly out of reach."

* * *

The Five were joking to each other as they walked into the Training Hall, but stopped abruptly. Vixey was standing off to the side, looking very disheveled in appearance.

"Forget to brush this morning?" Monkey teased.

Vixey didn't seem to answer, slightly unnerving the others. Mantis leapt onto her shoulder.

"Earth to Vixey," he started, poking the side of her head. "Anyone in th-!"

She shrieked and flailed, falling flat on her back before hastily climbing to her feet. Mantis was suddenly on Crane's hat, though everyone else was also startled and had leapt back a little.

"Forget about a late escape," Crane started. "Looks like she's been sleepwalking."

"Vixey, are you okay?" Viper asked.

"I am so sorry," Vixey told them, rubbing her eyes and trying to fix her appearance. "You know I'm not usually like this!"

She suddenly stiffened up and watched the door as if she heard something. Po looked at where she was looking, and turned back to face her.

"No one's there," he said. "Now, come on! Let's get training!"

He and the rest of the Five ran for the equipment, and after a moment, Vixey hesitantly followed, too.

* * *

Throughout the day, Vixey's mood seemed to be lightening up. It was almost looking like her mother wasn't coming at all! She seemed to have forgotten her worries by the time morning training ended.

She was almost skipping toward the Training Hall after lunch when she froze and let out a huge, dramatic gasp. She'd just heard the gong ring for a visitor.

She ran for the peach tree and got there in time to see Shifu greeting a fox in the arena, gesturing toward the rest of the Jade Palace. She fled for the barracks.

"Oh, my gosh, no!" she whimpered, rushing to Tigress's room.

When she got there, her abrupt appearance startled everyone in the room, almost making Po drop the dishes he was picking up.

"She's here!" Vixey told them desperately. "She's coming up the stairs right now!"

The others looked very dismissively at her, and Tigress was even annoyed.

"Chances are, you're just making this look worse than it will be," she told the fox.

Vixey just stood there, giving her an absolutely ridiculous, exaggerated are-you-kidding-me look. Tigress merely gave an uncomfortable sigh.

"Just make sure she doesn't come in my room," she said.

Vixey took her paws off the doorway in surrender and shook her head.

"I'm not making any promises," she told her. "I'll do what I can."

Po waddled past her with the dishes. He appeared to be muttering to himself, but remained silent, knowing better than to be saying anything of the sort with any level of volume around the fox. But she still gave him a hostile look as he walked past.

Then she jumped and whirled around as she heard the barracks door open, and she could hear a very familiar voice coming from that direction. She started running toward it, but only made it a few steps.

"Vixey!" Aijia started as soon as she was within view, throwing her arms wide open.

Vixey, however, was too startled to be able to stop in time. She'd slowed down, but was soon caught in her mother's grasp.

"M-OTH-er!" she started, barely able to keep the air from escaping her lungs. "It's n-nice to s-see you..."

Aijia set her on her feet and walked right past.

"Now where is..." she began, walking down the hall. "Ah! The wounded friend!"

Tian, looking a little irritated, was about to take a defensive stance, but Vixey beat her to it, suddenly sliding right to the doorway and blocking her mother from entering.

"No!" she cried. "I've been given specific orders to not let you in! Tigress needs to rest, so why don't we show you the Chrysanthemum Suite?"

"Oh, I just want to talk," Aijia reasoned.

"Then you can talk from the hallway," Tian gruffly said before turning to tend to an exasperated Tigress.

"Are you sure you don't need any help in there?" Aijia continued.

Once again, Vixey beat Tian to the punch.

"She's a Master Healer!" the fox pled. "She doesn't need help!"

"Everyone needs help, Vixey," Aijia told her.

"Then why did you even ask in the first place?" Shifu muttered under his breath.

By all means, he'd have left already, but he wasn't going to just abandon Tigress here and now. He'd already gotten very annoyed at Aijia as he led her from the arena to the barracks. She just wouldn't stop talking...

Vixey stomped her foot.

"Mother!" she growled. "You just got here! We should give you a tour of the grounds, and even introduce you to the other warriors here! I'm sure they'd even have a problem you could _miraculously_ solve!"

She couldn't help it. The sarcasm just popped out.

"Well," Aijia started, "I was just born to help!"

Vixey saw an opportunity and immediately took it. She spun her briefly surprised mother around and pushed her toward the kitchen.

"Then let's go help _other_ people!" she snapped.

Shifu walked up to Tigress's door as the two foxes disappeared. He looked inside the room at the two women inside. Tian sighed in relief, but Tigress groaned and fell upon her bed.

"Is it over yet?" she complained.

Tian, still irked, walked toward her brother.

"You stay here," she said. "I have a feeling that woman is about to cause trouble, and I won't allow it!"

Shifu stepped aside to let her through and then went in to sit with Tigress.

* * *

"... and Crane and Viper and Monkey," Vixey said.

She felt grateful for her friends for sitting through this. But she knew they didn't really have much of a choice. This would happen sooner or later.

"What lovely friends!" Aijia started. "Now... which one is..."

" _Isn't it obvious_?!" Vixey hissed.

Monkey and Mantis chuckled a little at her frustration. Crane and Viper didn't, the former remembering his own troubles with his own mother. He wouldn't be living that down anytime soon... And Po was just trying to pretend he couldn't hear anything while he was scrubbing dishes. This was painful enough as is.

"Oh, of course," Aijia said dismissively at her own blunder before turning to the others. "Vixey's told me all about all of you. All the adventures... and misadventures, if I can recall. I almost brought a list; can you believe that?"

Vixey was cringing severely and the others looked very worried toward her. Po was grinding his teeth as he scrubbed furiously at a wok.

"We'll have none of that."

Vixey whirled around, very grateful to see Tian walking toward them. If anyone could put her mother in place, it was her. And she was still looking rather upset.

"Blackmail isn't any way to... _help_... people," she continued.

"Oh, you've come out of the room now!" Aijia started. "Does that mean you're done?"

"No!" Tian snapped. "If you dare step into my patient's room for any reason, even to deliver tea, I will send you to your room in a body cast!"

The area turned deathly silent and cold. Vixey would've felt proud, except she was too terrified of the little healer to acknowledge it.

"Oooookay..." Aijia began, turning toward the other warriors. "Oh! Do you need help with those dishes?"

Po jumped when he realized he'd been addressed.

"N-no," he said. "I... I think I... got it. Thanks."

He scrubbed at a plate, trying to look busy.

"Oh, would you look at the... sun," Mantis started. "We're kinda, sorta _late_ for our training session! We should get going!"

Monkey, Crane, and Viper quickly got up and moved quickly past the foxes and red panda as Po hurried to dry his arms off to join them. When he was finally on his way, he saw only Tian at the doorway, glaring in the direction the others went, ear twitching.

"This isn't going to go down too well, is it?" he asked as he scampered into the hall.

"Not at all," Tian growled. "If she doesn't put a leash on herself, she could wind up seriously harming herself. _And it won't be an accident_."

The added comment stabbed fear into Po's heart, making him want to escape. But he stopped himself. He wasn't the reason behind Tian's frustrations, so he didn't have much to fear. For the most part.

They caught up to the others just before the door outside, and Po inched past the foxes. He hadn't caught much of what Aijia was going on about, but Vixey was obviously flustered and the Five looked uncomfortable. They stopped just as Crane was about to open the door.

"Oh, and if you need it," Aijia added, somewhat whispering to Monkey, "I have the perfect salve for that rash of yours."

Monkey flinched horribly, looked flustered, and glared furiously at Vixey. Then she jumped.

"Wait, what?" she started, then turning to her mother. "What?!" Then she turned to Monkey again. "WHAT?! I didn't even know you have a rash!" She turned to her mother again. "How did you know he had a rash?!"

Po, Crane, and Mantis all inched away from Monkey while Viper seemed a little worried.

"MOTHER!" Vixey almost shrieked.

Aijia looked a little surprised, and then leaned closer to Tian.

"I thought that was common knowledge," she whispered.

"Well, it is now," the healer growled, "and it isn't contagious! Stop it, all of you!"

The rest of the Five immediately froze, taking on solemn faces. Monkey, however, grumpily turned to leave, and as he was approaching the door, he scratched at his side, which, now everyone noticed, looked a bit red through his fur. But then he immediately stopped after hearing the scuffing noise from Tian's sandals as she suddenly turned to glare at him upon hearing his scratching. Then he made a quick exit.

Not wanting to make the situation worse, the rest of the Five hurried awkwardly out the door.

Vixey stood there, frozen in mingled embarrassment and rage. Then she latched onto her mother's wrist and pulled her, hard, toward the door.

"Chrysanthemum Suite," she snapped. " _Now_."

"Vixey, I need to apologize to him!" Aijia started as she was dragged outside.

" _You've done enough!_ "

Shifu cautiously left Tigress's room and carefully approached his sister, who seemed to be at a boiling point. He looked to be experiencing a jumble of negative emotions at the same time.

"Now I see why Vixey wanted her to stay away," he said simply.

"Would we be allowed to ban her from the barracks?" Tigress called from her room.

The red pandas, flustered, turned back to Tigress's room.

* * *

Vixey counted her lucky stars that she'd kept her mom away from everyone during the daylight hours. When she couldn't keep her inside the Chrysanthemum Suite anymore, she suggested they go down to the Valley for some sightseeing.

But she was sure her ears would fall off from all her mother's talking. She talked about what was a good deal, and where the best rice was, and this and that. Honestly, she may have only caught about ten percent of what all was said. And most of it was actually about the other students at the Jade Palace. So Vixey nearly talked her voice away about all the rules - real and ones she made on the spot, specifically for her mother - that needed to be followed.

Now, they walked up the staircase as daylight was rapidly vanishing, and Vixey was still only half-listening. Then she couldn't handle it anymore.

"What's your problem?!" she shrieked as she suddenly whirled around to face her mother.

Aijia almost slipped, but caught herself.

"What do you mean?" she asked, troubled.

"All you do is talk and not solve anything!" her daughter continued. "You just make everything worse!"

"That isn't true," Aijia told her, becoming more defensive. "I'm trying to help!"

"That's _helping_?" Vixey continued. "You honestly think you're helping us? What d'you think happened with Monkey?! Now you've made everyone believe I tell you absolutely everything that I see and hear! Even things that need to stay secret!"

"My tongue just got ahead of me again," Aijia said firmly. "It happens from time to time, and I'm trying to restrain myself."

"That _always_ happens!" Vixey snapped. "You always make things worse! I've seen zero restraint from you! Are you trying to make my life harder? It was hard enough to make friends outside the workplace while I was a detective because what I did always seemed to get out! Now I'm starting to wonder _how_ it got out!"

"Are you blaming me?" Aijia growled. "You never told me how you completed cases! I always learned from bystanders, and believe me, I still don't approve of a few things you had a habit of doing!"

"Well, I'm not doing them anymore!" Vixey retorted. "I'm not required to go out and get information through whatever means I can! I'm supposed to be saving the public and protecting my friends!"

"That's great," Aijia started, "except you won't let me help -!"

"NO!" Vixey barked. "Stop helping me! I don't need your help! I never needed your help! Not even before Dad -!"

They both stopped instantly. Aijia looked at her daughter with betrayal, and Vixey had furious tears in her eyes. Aijia struggled to find words.

"Just... stop!" Vixey shouted. "Leave my friends alone!"

Then she turned and fled to the Jade Palace.

* * *

Vixey went to bed hoping that would be the end of it. Maybe her mom would listen this time, but maybe she wouldn't. But it broke her heart to argue with her like that, and felt guilty she hadn't apologized. Unless her mom left early in the morning out of rage, which wasn't like her, she'd still have time to apologize for her conduct. Then the fighting would be over.

She couldn't be more wrong.

Just before sunrise, Vixey woke with ears twitching. She looked across the room at Tigress, relieved to see she was still sleeping soundly. Behind her, through the wall, she could hear someone sneaking around. She got up from her mat and snuck over to the door, opening it soundlessly.

Both foxes were startled, but more Aijia than Vixey. The elder of the two had been about to very lightly knock on the door.

"What are you doing?" Vixey hissed quietly.

"I just wanted to check if you were both all right," Aijia whispered. "Maybe you needed help?"

"No!" Vixey told her, struggling to remain quiet. "I don't need help! And don't you remember what Tian said yesterday?"

"Well, I wasn't going to go in," Aijia reasoned.

Then they both tensed up, Vixey's left and Aijia's right ears twitching, and they turned to see Shifu standing at the end of the hall, looking very cross.

"Good morning, Master," Vixey weakly said.

Aijia straightened up, dusted herself off, and bowed to Shifu.

"I half-expected you to sleep late," the red panda growled.

"Oh, I never sleep late," Aijia said, standing upright. "I stopped after I got pregnant."

Vixey cringed and almost silently groaned.

Behind her, Tigress opened her eyes. She'd been awake the very moment Vixey stood up to open the door and caught the entire exchange. She didn't say anything so Vixey wouldn't have more to deal with, but she felt rather frustrated at the mother and daughter.

* * *

Vixey's day seemed to keep getting worse as she jumped in and berated her mother every time the latter tried helping one of her flustered friends. Eventually, Aijia stopped helping, but only because she and Vixey were fighting all the time.

This went on for days until finally, Tigress had enough. The two were just shouting and screaming at each other just outside her bedroom door.

"Vixey! Aijia!" she shouted. "Stop!"

The foxes didn't seem to hear her. Tigress looked at her pillow, but thought against throwing it. If she did, she'd only get one chance at hitting one of them, and her door was partially blocking her aim. She came to a solution and threw back her covers, swinging her legs to the side of the bed. She paused, preparing in case she would be greeted with pain, and then stood up.

It wasn't pain that troubled her. It was actually the lack of pain that led to panic. She instantly regretted standing up as she felt her legs wobble. She fell forward, landing in a CRASH!

The foxes immediately turned to see the wounded tiger lying flat on the floor, looking as panicked as she did.

"Tigress!" they cried, rushing to her.

Tigress looked quite shaken as they picked her up and set her on her knees. Aijia set about checking her all over for injury. Vixey was alarmed that she wasn't swatting her away.

"Tigress?" she started. "Are you okay? What were you thinking? You haven't walked in months! Your legs are too weak right now!"

Tigress didn't seem to be listening. She touched her wounded side, causing Vixey to grab that arm and tug it away.

"Are you hurt?" she asked. "Are you...!"

She stopped, her eyes on Tigress's paw. She saw why she was so frightened. There was fresh blood on Tigress's fingers.

Vixey let out a sharp yelp, and was out the door in a flash.

* * *

Tian looked very cross.

"She wants to see you," she told Vixey as she walked into the hallway.

Vixey ran to Tigress's bedside.

"So it wasn't a relapse," she started, "your cut just reopened. You should really be more -!"

"You didn't hear me," Tigress said, refusing to look at her friend.

Vixey was startled.

"Wh... what?"

"You didn't hear me!" Tigress hissed, suddenly glaring at the fox. "You need to stop arguing with your mother and find out what went wrong!"

Vixey looked at her, bewildered.

"What do you mean?" she asked.

"She won't be here forever, Vixey!" Tigress chided. "You may get a thousand friends that come or go, but you only have one mother!"

Vixey looked stung. She couldn't find the words or even the thoughts to respond.

"Find out what went wrong between you and your mother and fix it," Tigress said sharply, "before you lose her forever."

Vixey stared at her friend in startled realization, and then hung her head. Just outside the door, out of view, Aijia looked to be in the same mood as her daughter. Tigress's words carried the entire, stinging truth.

* * *

Vixey jerked awake. She wiped away the drool dripping from her chin, suddenly realizing she hadn't had the blanket draped over her when she'd nodded off. Her scrolls were still spread across the floor, but her candle looked like it had been snuffed hours ago.

Whoever brought the blanket and snuffed the candle must have walked with extreme, precise caution. Only one person came to mind.

"Mom," Vixey whispered.

She sat there for a minute before setting the blanket aside. In only the moonlight, she rolled up her scrolls and put them in her nearby basket.

She was about to sit down and reach for the blanket again, but something seemed very off. Something didn't sound right. Ears twitching, she scanned her surroundings. She traced the sound to Tigress.

Stepping carefully to not wake her, she snuck over to her bedside. She knew immediately something was wrong. She looked troubled in her sleep and her breathing was heavy. Worried, Vixey touched the back of her hand to Tigress's forehead.

"Oh no," Vixey breathed.

* * *

 **Part 3 tomorrow!**


	3. EP1 Mother of Mine Part 3

_Episode One: Mother of Mine, Part Three_

It was very early in the morning and the barracks was already full of activity. To calm his nerves, Po had left to start breakfast. The other Masters waited outside Tigress's door.

Everyone tensed up as the door opened, but only Vixey stepped out.

"Something must've gotten into the cut when it reopened," she said quietly. "The infection caused her fever... and she still hasn't woken up."

A forlorn silence filled the hallway for a moment.

"Dear," Aijia started, "I know something that may help."

Vixey was about to roll her eyes in frustration, but stopped. Remembering Shifu and Tigress's words of counsel, she decided to give her mom a chance.

"Then what is it?" she asked, her frustration clear in her voice.

"Do you remember that tea I always made whenever you got very sick?" Aijia started.

Vixey almost flailed.

"That never works!" she told her sharply. "It's disgusting, it makes me want to puke just thinking about it, and it won't help Tigress!"

Aijia seemed extremely patient, but only Shifu caught the deep breath she'd taken.

"Just... give me a chance," she said calmly. "You never saw it working because I'd only ever used it on you. If it doesn't work... I'll stop trying to help and leave it to the resident expert."

Vixey looked ready to cry. She looked down, fists clenched. Then she started walking briskly down the hall.

"Let's get this over with."

* * *

In the kitchen, Po set a large bowl of bean buns and several bowls of rice on a large tray and moved to pick it all up to take it to the others. Then, for the hundredth time, his eyes strayed to the cookie jar up on the highest shelf. It had been taunting him so very badly. Po looked toward the hall and listened. All was silent.

He couldn't help himself. He grabbed a nearby broom and, deciding it was sturdy enough, stood it up straight and climbed it as he'd seen Shifu climb his staff. He reached desperately for the high shelf, wavering a bit, since the broom wasn't anywhere near as sturdy as he'd thought. He muttered gibberish to himself before surprising himself with catching the shelf.

He breathed a sigh, but then caught sight of the two foxes who had just walked in.

Nothing happened as Po and Aijia exchanged surprised glances and Vixey gave an unimpressed and annoyed look. A moment passed before Po hurriedly dismounted the broom, set it aside with an embarrassed chuckle, and picked up the tray.

"I'll... just be taking this, so..." he said, inching out of the room, and then hurrying down the hall.

Aijia watched the hallway with a shocked expression for a few seconds while Vixey went to pour water from a pitcher into a teapot. The older fox snapped out of it, retrieved a small bag from her pocket, and put it on the counter as her daughter started heating the water.

"Just prepare it as you normally would tea," Aijia instructed.

Vixey felt her frustration boil again, but refusing to back down from Shifu's council, she kept herself calm. At least on the outside. Then she noticed her mother had grabbed a bowl and sat at the table behind her.

"What're you doing?" she asked.

"A salve from the same herb may help," Aijia answered, working to grind up dried leaves. "Especially if used with the tea."

The two remained in silence as the elder concentrated on crushing the leaves and the younger contemplated the meaning of this. But as the silence went on, Vixey's frustration boiled down and she started silently crying, keeping her back toward her mother.

"Vixey... I'm sorry."

Vixey jumped and slightly turned, still trying to keep her tears secret.

"What?" she asked.

"I'm sorry for all the trouble I caused," Aijia continued. "I just wanted to do whatever I could to help. I just felt so lost when you left, and I thought I did something to make you leave. I thought you hated me. But I realize I never really lost you."

A fresh tear slipped down Vixey's cheek. She wanted to say something, but didn't so her voice wouldn't crack.

"The fact that you kept writing to me should've been a dead giveaway. If you truly hated me, you would've done as much as possible to shut me out and make me disappear from your life. We were both just so hurt after your father passed, and I..."

Aijia sighed.

"I'm so sorry. I just wanted to help you, and since all you write about is your friends, I wanted to help them so I could get through to you. You never wrote about if you were having a good day or a terrible week. I thought this would be the only way to be such good friends as we were back when you were a kit."

The sudden reminder of her childhood made Vixey break down. And since she couldn't keep herself from making any sounds, she stopped trying to hide it.

She didn't hear her mother get up or approach. She just suddenly felt her arms around her.

"I'm sorry, Vixey," Aijia said again.

"N-no," Vixey told her. " _I'm_ s-sorry. If I h-hadn't t-tried so hard t-to make you s-stop, I'd h-have found out w-why. I'm s-sorry, M-Mom..."

Aijia stopped hugging her and turned her around to face her. She looked into her eyes before wiping away a few fresh tears.

"Don't worry about it," she said gently. "We'll work things out. Let's just do our part for Tigress."

Vixey pulled away, a bit upset.

"It still won't work," she muttered.

The tea on the stove started to whistle.

"We'll just see," Aijia said, going back to finish the salve.

* * *

The two foxes returned to the hallway a little while later, Vixey stepping carefully to keep the tea from spilling. Doubt was still clear on her face.

The other warriors looked at each other before Viper started toward the door.

"Good luck," she said, knocking softly.

Barely a moment later, Tian opened the door looking rather upset.

"What is it?" she growled, primarily at Aijia.

"I believe I have something that will help Tigress," the fox told her plainly.

Tian looked like she was about to explode in anger, but caught a very slight movement from Shifu. She turned slightly and saw him make a very brief and small nod. She turned back to the foxes with a glare and stood aside.

"Fine then!" she hissed. "What do you have?"

She shut the door after the two came inside.

"A tea and salve made from Phoenix Leaf," Aijia said.

Tian's expression suddenly turned to surprise.

"Phoenix Leaf?" she started. "Where did you get that?"

Vixey had set the tea on the bedside table and was fanning it when she was startled by Tian's response.

"My mother grew it and passed it on to me," Aijia told her. "She told me it was very rare and useful."

"Oh, she was right about that," Tian said. "It's a very powerful herb with significant healing properties. I hadn't considered it in Tigress's healing because I'd never gotten my hands on it. Heavens... And your family has been growing it since before you were born?"

"Yes," Aijia answered, handing her the salve.

She and Tian gently applied it to Tigress's wound while Vixey, still fanning the tea, watched.

"I hope this does more than remove the infection," Tian continued. "At this point, it's a bit much to hope for."

She suddenly turned to Vixey.

"That may be cool enough now," she said.

Vixey felt the side of the teacup as she was about to hand it over.

"Feels like it," she told her.

She moved to carefully position Tigress so the tea would harmlessly trickle down her throat. As she watched Tian give Tigress the tea, she'd never hoped so hard that she herself was wrong about her mom's tea. With everything Tian said about the Phoenix Leaf, she felt convinced.

After only a few minutes since receiving the tea and salve, Tigress seemed to relax a bit.

"It appears to be working," Aijia said.

"I'll keep an eye on her," Tian told her. "The both of you can go if you want to."

The two foxes nodded and silently went to leave. As soon as they were in the hallway, they felt bombarded by the hopeful looks of the others.

"It's too early to tell," Aijia said. "However, I have a feeling Tigress will be just fine."

The others seemed to have looks mixed with worry and hope.

Aijia turned in time to see Vixey walking past her with her arms crossed and looking down. She nodded to the others to silently excuse herself and walked after her daughter. She didn't try to stop her until they were just outside the barracks.

"Are you okay, Vixey?" she started.

Vixey stopped in her tracks, but didn't turn around.

"I'm sorry, Mom," she said.

"For what, dear?" Aijia asked with a kind smile.

Vixey turned to face her.

"For not believing you," she continued. "If your cure really didn't work, as I thought for so long, it would either have done nothing or made her worse. I'm just... sorry..."

"Don't worry about it," Aijia told her. "You were so young when I last gave it to you, so you must have remembered it being torture. That tea is rather bitter."

Vixey shrugged, refraining from eye contact. Aijia put a paw on her shoulder.

"Have I ever told you how proud I am of you?" she asked.

Vixey glanced up at her, tears beginning to come.

"I... I d-don't remember..." she admitted, ashamed to tell the truth.

"Well, I'm _very_ proud of you," Aijia continued. "I'm proud of how well you recovered after that terror in the Valley all those years ago. When you started such a difficult line of work, I worried, but I was also proud of what you wanted to achieve. I'm proud of how well you responded after those poor friends of yours fell in the line of duty. And I worried again."

Vixey's shoulders shuddered as she started crying again, stung by the memory of her friends.

"I'm so proud of having such a caring daughter," Aijia told her slowly and with purpose. "You care more about your friends than you care about yourself. To me, you've already achieved greatness."

She pulled her daughter into a hug, and the younger just cried.

"Just keep caring and taking care of yourself. That's all I want from you."

"'Kay, M-Mom..."

* * *

Tigress stirred from sleep, feeling much more rested than she'd felt in a long time. Her mind felt addled for a little bit and she didn't dare sit up.

Tian dropped the scroll she'd been looking at, startled upon hearing the slightest movement from her patient.

"Tigress!" she started, rushing gleefully to the bedside. "How do you feel?"

Tigress carefully sat up, still looking a bit confused.

"I'm... fine," she said. "What happened?"

"Your wound became infected after that fall yesterday," Tian explained.

Tigress seemed to be taking some time to process this.

"I'm not in pain," she said. "I'd thought I'd be in a bit more after a..."

It was like she was just brought back to reality.

"I'm not in pain," she repeated. "The cut isn't hurting anymore! It had been burning ever since I got it!"

Tian looked surprised, and then went for the bandage.

"Well, we might as well check it, then," she told her. "It needs to be cleaned again, anyway."

"What did you do to it?" Tigress asked.

"Vixey's mother made an herbal tea and a salve from a rare herb," Tian said, nearly finished taking off the bandage. "It's called Phoenix Leaf. It's so rare that I didn't previously consider it. Her family has been growing it all this time."

She bundled up the used bandage to ready to dispose of it, but stopped upon sensing she missed something. Then she noticed the bandage. Tigress also sensed something was off, but didn't catch the connection.

Then Tian looked at the wound, prompting Tigress to do the same. The tiger gasped.

"It's scabbed over!" Tian proclaimed. "At long last, it's finally scabbed over!"

Tian's shout attracted the others, everyone gathering just outside the door.

"You mean I can start walking soon?" Tigress asked eagerly.

"Yes!" Tian answered. "We'll have to strengthen your legs again, of course."

The others cheered and almost swarmed the room, but Aijia was somehow suddenly in front of them and took a few steps inside.

"I just knew it would work," she stated, remaining a few steps away to avoid overwhelming Tigress. "I haven't seen a time where it hasn't."

Tigress looked a little ashamed.

"Thank you for helping me," she started. "I'm just sorry for not giving you much of a chance to help me before now."

"As am I," Tian added.

"Honestly, dears, it was for the better," Aijia told them. "I hadn't even thought of the Phoenix Leaf until you fell ill. Speaking of which..."

She pulled a small bag out of her pocket and handed it to Tian.

"Seeds and a few months' worth of dried leaves," she continued. "I'm sure you'll find good use for them. If you run out of leaves before the plants mature, just ask."

Tian looked like a child on the morning of the Winter Feast.

"Oh, thank you so much!" she said giddily.

"It isn't a problem," Aijia said. "I'd like to stay and chat, but I believe I've long overstayed my welcome."

Everyone was startled.

"Wait, what?" Vixey yipped from the hallway.

"I only meant to stay for a few days," Aijia continued, now addressing all present. "How long has it been? A week and a half? I really need to get going now."

She started walking out, right past her daughter.

"I'm sure I'll be back before you miss me, though," she called out.

Vixey stood in the hallway, stunned as she watched her mother go outside. Then she ran after her.

"Mom!" she shouted, bursting from the door.

Aijia turned, looking surprised. Vixey ran to her and stopped about a foot away.

"You're leaving?" she started. "Already?"

"Don't worry, dear," Aijia told her daughter, "I'll be back before long."

"But what if you won't?" Vixey asked.

The two foxes looked at each other with worried glances. Then Aijia smiled kindly.

"Vixey," she started, "don't worry. I'm a retired woman that did nothing but raise a family during my working years. I'm perfectly healthy. Life isn't going to just throw me out in the next few months."

Vixey looked at her feet. Still sensing worry from her, Aijia walked to her and pulled her into a hug.

"Don't worry about me," she said. "Worry about yourself. Stay safe and healthy. And tell me about it. Okay?"

Vixey broke out of the hug and nodded to her mother, who smiled again. Then Aijia left to get ready to leave.

* * *

The next morning, Vixey sat near the peach tree, watching her mother grow smaller as she descended the staircase. She felt rather empty inside.

"Morning, Monkey," she said dully, out of the blue.

Monkey suddenly dropped down, swinging upside-down by his tail.

"Not in the mood for jokes, are you?" he asked.

Vixey shook her head slowly, still watching her mother. Monkey dropped out of the tree and onto his hands and feet in silence.

"You miss her already," he presumed. "She'll be back in just a few weeks, won't she?"

"Who knows," Vixey muttered. "For a retired woman, she does a ton of work."

She paused.

"I have to apologize," she said. "Seeing how I reacted to Mom must've been an insult to you, Po, and Tigress."

"If you had a brother you got along with," Monkey started, "would you be offended with my brother and me fighting?"

Vixey glanced at him with a confused look, thought about it, and then turned to watch the Valley again.

"I guess not," she said. "But Tigress took offense."

"She takes offense to everything."

"But she was right," Vixey continued. "Now, thanks to her, Mom and I are..."

She fell silent for a moment.

"Well, we're getting there."

Monkey stood there for a moment, feeling awkward. Then he started walking toward the Training Hall.

"We'd better get training," he said. "Shifu doesn't like us to be late, even for one of Po's lessons."

Vixey nodded, still looking out at the Valley. After Monkey left for the Training Hall, she waited for another minute or so before standing up. She dusted herself off and started walking toward the Hall. Then she smiled.

Tigress was healing faster, Monkey refused to prank her for once, and she herself had begun to be on better terms with her mother. What was there to be upset about?

* * *

 ** _Next Episode:_** When Po is called down to the Valley to help with repairs, a few familiar faces pop up. But familiar doesn't always mean friendly!

 **First episode complete! I'm so happy I'm publishing again!**

 **Fair warning, though. It may still take me ages to get the next episodes out, but please be patient. I'm nowhere near done with this! I promise!**

 **Stay tuned!**


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